Your rights and responsibilities

Your rights and responsibilities as an organiser

Do you need permission to be on the streets? 

You have a right to protest – you don’t need to ask permission from the police. The Human Rights Act and Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) mean that the police have a legal obligation to facilitate your protest.

Providing written notice

Depending on where you want to go and what you want to do, you may need to engage with certain people when you start planning. For example, you may need to inform the police in writing (called “written notice”) if you are planning a protest march in England or Wales. If your protest is stationary, you do not have to inform the police. If you’re organising a march, you should inform the police 6 days before your planned protest march, unless it is not reasonably practicable to give any advance notice of the procession. When notice is provided details are required of the timing and route of the march, and the name and address of at least one organiser.

If you’re organising a parade or public procession in Northern Ireland, you must complete a Form 11/1 and hand it directly to the police station nearest the starting point of the parade. This notification must be given at least 28 days before the date of the planned parade.

Conditions and restrictions to protest 

Using their powers under Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, the police can impose conditions and restrictions on stationary protests and protest marches. The threshold for the imposition of such conditions was significantly reduced by the Serious Disruption to the life of the Community Regulations 2023.

The conditions relating to a protest to be held (ie, not yet happening) must be given in writing by a chief officer of police.

Where a protest is being held, the conditions not need be in writing, but must be made by an officer who is the most senior in rank of the police officers present at the scene. If the conditions are not in writing, it may have implications for whether an individual protestor can be said to have "known or ought to know" of the conditions.

Conditions can come in many forms, such as noise limits, the route of a protest march, banning the use of microphones and audio equipment, or banning you from a specific area.

If you are aware of conditions imposed on your protest, you must follow them. You are not liable for breaches of police conditions that are outside of your control. There is no specific requirement in the legislation for you, as an organiser, to communicate police conditions to people participating in a protest. However, it’s a criminal offence if you don’t comply with the conditions, or you incite others to breach the conditions. However, in general, when organising a protest, Friends of the Earth seeks to notify attendees of any police conditions imposed, in order to minimise the risk of anyone being arrested. See more detail on the circumstances for imposing conditions on protests and the sentences in the section on the Policing Act 2022.

Read more about how to communicate restrictions in our guide to organising a protest.

Your rights and responsibilities as a protester

If you are aware of conditions imposed by the police, you are required to follow them. You could also be arrested if you "ought to know" of the conditions. What exactly that means will depend on the particular circumstances. The legislation does not set out a proactive duty on attendees to make enquiries in order to find out what the conditions on a protest are. However, if, for example, a police officer is trying to read out what the conditions are, and you deliberately shout over them so as to avoid hearing, then you may fall foul of "ought to have known". It is a criminal offence to disobey conditions that you ought to have known about, or to incite others to breach the conditions imposed by police. However, you are not liable for breaches of police conditions that are outside your control.

Remember that you have a right to protest and to freedom of expression. If you are aware of conditions imposed by the police, and you follow them, you shouldn’t have to worry about being arrested. While these new laws are designed to frighten activists away from away from holding governments and businesses to account, protest is not illegal.

What to do if you’re arrested

You can only be arrested if the police have a good reason to believe you have committed or are committing a crime, and that arrest is necessary. The police must tell you that you are being arrested and the reason why it’s necessary to do so. Upon arrest, the arresting officer must provide their name or identifying shoulder number, and which police station you’re being taken to.

The arresting officer may search you – also known as a “pat down”. They are only allowed to conduct a strip search if they believe you are hiding something. A strip search is a search that is not an intimate search, but involves the removal of more than outer clothing A strip search should not be routinely conducted, and should be carried out only if it is considered necessary to remove an article which the detained person would not be allowed to keep and the officer reasonably considers that the detainee might have concealed such an article. Strip searches must be conducted away from public view, and by an officer of the same gender as you. You can request a specific gender officer to perform the strip search if you are transgender or non-binary, and they should respect this.

If you’re arrested

If you’re arrested at a protest, it’s important to remember the following:

• Generally, you have no legal obligation to provide your personal details to the police. There are some exceptions to this general rule, such as (under section 50 of the Police Reform Act 2002) if the police have reason to believe you have acted in an “anti-social” manner (such as causing harm or behaving in a harassing way, for example). If they have reason to believe you are behaving in an “anti-social” manner and demand your details, then you must provide them – it’s a criminal offence to refuse in this situation. If the police ask for your details prior to arrest, then again, there is no general legal obligation to provide these. However, if you don’t, then it can make arrest more likely, as opposed to (for example) being asked to attend a voluntary interview at a later date. This is because, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect an offence, then enabling the police to identify the name and address of the person in question is a permitted reason for arrest under s.24 of PACE. 
• Some protestors refuse to provide their personal details until they have to. This is to stop police gaining data about them and the groups they work with. It is of course up to individuals what they choose to do, but it should be borne in mind that refusal to provide personal details after arrest may often delay matters at the police station since ascertaining the identity of a suspect is part of the investigation of the offence (and is a ground for detaining someone before a decision to charge them with an offence has been made). Refusing to provide details will also increase the chance of remand (being held) in custody if the person is subsequently charged, since it can be taken to show a lack of cooperation with process and hence less likely to comply with bail conditions etc.
• You don’t need to answer police questions until you’ve had legal advice from a solicitor with specialist knowledge about protests – just answer with “no comment”. Don’t speak with or chat with police while in a police car or van, when being booked in at the police station or when being arrested and questioned.
• If you’re not a British citizen, you don’t need to provide your immigration status or nationality to the police, even when arrested. It’s advisable to have arrangements in place however, as the police may choose to run checks on your background and immigration status if they suspect you’re not a British citizen. Such arrangements could include a regular check-in through text message with your local action group, or writing contact details for legal support on your arm or your leg so you can contact them from the police station if arrested. Contact the Joint Council for the Welfare of Migrants (JWCI) for advice.  There are powers under the UK Borders Act 2007 which would require a person who has been arrested to state their nationality if required to do so by an immigration officer or a constable (sections 43A- 43B), and would give officers powers to require the production of a nationality document (which means their passport or, if they have no passport, one or more documents that would enable their identity or citizenship to be established) within 72 hours of release either pre- or post-charge (sections 46A-46C). However, these powers have not yet been brought into force. The Courts Act 2003 requires a criminal defendant to give their nationality if required to do so by a criminal court (section 86A).
• If you have a medical problem, inform the police as soon as you’re arrested, including any medication you need to take or if you have a history of mental health problems and/or are having a mental health issue at the time. The police are responsible for your health and safety when you’re in their custody. If you’re considered vulnerable (for example having a history of mental health issues, or you’re under 18) you can request an "appropriate adult" (someone you know and trust, such as a family member or a friend) to support you while you’re at the police station. You can also request to see the custody Health Care Professional or Custody Nurse.
• You have the right to an interpreter if English isn’t your first language.

Getting a solicitor

You should talk to a solicitor before being questioned by police at a station, accepting a caution or deciding how to plead to a charge. Police stations do have independent solicitors on duty but they may not necessarily have expertise on protest law, so we would strongly suggest that assistance is sought from specialist solicitors who do. If you’re concerned about being arrested at a protest, you could research and find a solicitor that has specialist knowledge on protest law and save their details before attending or organising a protest.

Liberty has provided a list of solicitors that offer free 24/7 help for protesters:

• Commons: 020 3865 5403
• ITN Solicitors: 020 3909 8100
• Hodge Jones Allen (HJA): 0844 848 0222
• Bindmans: 020 7305 5638

Kelly’s Solicitors: 01273 674 898 also have experience of protest law matters.

Netpol operates a Protest Solicitors List that helps campaigners find a good recommendation for a solicitor.

Green & Black Cross facilitates support for arrestees by sending volunteers to police stations to offer legal and practical support to those arrested at protests. Contact them via their Protest Support Line: 07966541511 or email [email protected]

If you are given a caution

Do not accept a caution without taking legal advice from a protest law solicitor. A “caution” is an admission of guilt and will stay on your criminal record. Speak to a solicitor as soon as you can as there are rules and steps that police must follow when issuing a caution.

 

This guidance is based on, and draws significantly from, material from Liberty. We'd like to thank them for this, and for their kindness and support for local action groups. Find out more about Liberty, the actions they take for civil rights and how we can work together. We're grateful to Shahida Begum barrister at Garden Court Chambers for reviewing and editing this guidance.  

Disclaimer: this guidance is designed to provide an overview of the types of protest-related offences, the sentences they carry upon conviction, and some practical ways to approach organising and participating in a protest. It does not constitute legal advice, which must always be tailored to the specific facts of a given case or circumstance. It’s also important to note that some of the offences described in this document are very new, with few or no prosecutions relating to them to date.